The Customs & Central Excise Settlement Commission was established under Sec. 32 of the Central Excise Act 1944 vide Notification No.40/99-Cx (NT) & 41/99-Cx (NT) dated 9.6.99. The Commission has its Principal Bench at New Delhi and three Additional Benches at Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

The Settlement Commission consists of one Chairman and two Members in the Principal Bench in New Delhi and one Vice Chairman and two Members in each of the three Additional Benches.

The basic objective of setting up of the Settlement Commission is to expedite payments of Customs & Excise duties involved in disputes by avoiding costly and time consuming litigation process and to give an opportunity to tax payers to come clean who may have evaded payments of duty. It provides a forum for the assesses to apply for settlement of their cases, on the basis of true and complete disclosure of their duty liability by them under Chapter -V of the Central Excise Act and Chapter XVIA of the Customs Act. Settlement Commission is therefore set up as an independent body, manned by experienced tax officers of “integrity and outstanding ability” (Sec 32 (3) of CE Act), capable of inspiring confidence in Trade and Industry and entrusted with the responsibility of defining and safeguarding “Revenue interest‟. The proceedings before it are declared “judicial proceedings‟ within the meaning of Sec 193 & 228 of the IPC and for the purposes of Sec 196 of the Indian Penal Code.

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